The Challenge
by Be Rose
Summary: Life for Kora could not be better. She has her family; her parents and twin brother are coming back; and the Blackwart family leave her alone. Then the summons from the High Witch Screecherella arrives. Can Kora prove her innocence? And what are the Blackwarts planning? One-shot sequel to 'Gingerbread all round'.


**THE CHALLENGE**

The summons came a month after New Year's Day. It was delivered officially by private messenger. Kora had to sign for receipt so she could not say it had not arrived.

The end of year celebrations had been lovely. Karl's boisterous family had made everybody laugh and Kora had talked and talked with her parents and brother. After the New Year celebrations Karl's parents and siblings had gone back home. Kora's family had stayed a couple of days longer to talk about their plans to move back. Life seemed perfect until the day the letter came.

Kora thought it was strange that the letter wasn't delivered by the normal postman. She knew something was wrong when she saw the sign of Screecherella in the upper left corner. Not until she had read the letter did she realise how serious things were.

It was addressed to 'The Most Honourable Corina Weiss-Schmidt, High Witch First Class A'. It was an insult, plain and simple. No witch was ever called 'The Most Honourable'. No witch was ever addressed with her full status and grade. To use her birth name Corina instead of the name she had used since she was eight was the worst insult of all.

The letter read:

'_Dear Mrs Corina Weiss-Schmidt,_

_It has been brought to my attention that you consider your powers equal to mine. From reputable sources I have learned that this only partly conforms to the truth as in reality you deem yourself my superior. I'm giving you the opportunity to prove this March First at 14:00 hours on Market Square of Herxa, capital of Wicclan. Your spouse, Karl Schmidt, and your offspring, Kess Schmidt and Tessa Schmidt, are required to attend the event._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Screecherella, Head of the Witches Council'_

The whole letter was meant to be humiliating. It was too polite. If it had been written with respect it should have said:

'_Dear Kora,_

_Someone told me you think you're better than me. If you dare, come and prove it on March 1st on the square of Herxa about 2 pm._

_Bring your family._

_Screecherella'_

That was the way witches communicated when they respected each other. No need for big words. Screecherella was obviously furious or she would not have written such a letter. Kora didn't know who had caused the anger of the Head Witch. She had an idea though. She suspected great-aunt Sulpherina. No doubt she still resented being turned into a puppy.

For years the Blackwarts had left Kora in peace. When her twin girls had been born she had notified the family but not one of them had tried to do anything that could have displeased her. Then she had become the sole heir to her great-aunt Virulla. The Blackwarts had challenged the will and had seriously lost face when their case had been thrown out with disdain. Even then they hadn't tried anything, as if they dreaded Kora's powers even if she hardly ever used them. Now she feared that the coven had been planning all those years to destroy her and her family. It had been so cleverly done as well. It could only have come from Sulpherina, the head of the family.

Kora showed the letter to her husband and he too realised the seriousness of it. They were both pleased that their parents and siblings had been left out of the summons. Kora had sent a letter back saying:

'_Screecherella,_

_You've been lied to. I never made those claims. Let's call this thing off._

_Kora'_

It was no use. The same messenger brought an exact copy of the first letter.

The last days of February seemed to fly by, as if March hurried them along. It was a dreary, cloudy day when Kora and her family travelled to the capital of Wicclan. Herxa was a beautiful place full of grand houses and palaces; the home of the aristocracy of witches. Market Square was the largest of the eight squares. All around it were the largest mansion in Herxa, eight in total, each set in its own private park. From each of the corners and from the middle of each side, streets led to every part of the city. For the occasion of the battle between Screecherella and Kora it had been changed into an amphitheatre. Every seat was taken. The streets leading towards the square had been closed off except for two. Kora and her family walked along Challenger Street and through the Challenger Entrance into the square. At the opposite corner Defender Avenue joined the square at Defenders' Gate. Through this entrance came Screecherella, closely followed by the Blackwart family. Slowly both parties walked along facing sides of the square until they were across from each other. Then Kora and Screecherella went to the middle of the square.

There was no announcement of the contest, no referee to see that rules were obeyed. A witch was honour bound not to cheat so why would you need an official to see to this. Screecherella's curtsy was another insult.

Kora ignored it and said, "Screecherella, this is all wrong. We have both been set up."

She had barely the time to dive out of the way of the older witch's first curse. The fight had begun. Screecherella threw everything she had at Kora; spells, curses, fireballs came towards the younger woman at an alarming rate. The old witch was definitely not past it yet. Kora didn't throw anything back. She blocked the spells and curses and threw iced-stoppers at the fireballs which made them implode in mid-air. All the while she tried to keep an eye on the Blackwarts. Officially they could only be spectators but she didn't trust them one bit.

For the people watching this should have been a spectacle worth seeing. Not only would two witches do battle for supremacy but the fight should give them a lightshow as well. Every curse and spell would have a different colour and a trail of sparkling stars would follow them on their trajectory. The fireballs would whizz around like small comets with tails of fire following them. Every projectile that was stopped would explode into fireworks.

So far they hadn't seen much. They saw the coloured trails but Kora's decision to block meant there were no fireworks. Some of the witches in the audience felt cheated. Others, more patient, waited for the fight to become more heated.

Screecherella had just thrown another volley of curses at Kora when her family was attacked. A poison-green curse whizzed past her, straight for her children. Kora could do nothing; she was too busy fending of Screecherella's attack. The huge fireball that was hurtling towards her could not be blocked by a mere stopper. Kora twisted round like a shot-putter to throw her own fireball at it. As she turned she just saw Tessa destroy the Blackwart curse. A surge of pride went through Kora. Tessa, like her father, didn't care much for witchcraft but had liked the idea of the defensive craft and had become more adept than a child her age normally was expected to be.

A lull in Screecherella's attack allowed Kora to see what the Blackwarts were up to. As she expected aunt Sulpherina was foremost in the assault. Aunt Vipera, Aunt Fungella and cousin Putrifica were cheering on Sulpherina, occasionally throwing a spell or curse of their own towards Kora's family. Karl, realising Kora needed to know her family were safe, was already standing next to Tessa. Finally Kess joined them not only stopping but throwing her own favourites, itching-spells and tickle-curses, at their assailants.

Kora wondered why Screecherella hadn't reacted to the attack on her family. Why had nobody reacted? This was breaking the rules of combat. Only she as the Challenger and Screecherella as the Defender were allowed to fight. Everybody else was spectator. Had there been a change of the rules she wasn't aware of?

Just as Screecherella's attack increased again, Kora saw Sulpherina throw a major curse. She became angry. She dodged a fireball, threw a blocking spell toward Screecherella with her right hand and with her left hurled a knockout curse towards Sulpherina. Now Vipera, Fungella and Putrifica took over from Sulpherina who, Kora knew, would not stay down too long. She realised that to save her family she had to get into the fight fully.

ooOOoo

_Kora remembered her first school fight, her first 'Tournament' as it was called. These fights were like PE lessons for witches. As soon as her Tournament had started Kora had felt anger and a wish to hurt welling up in her. Like a black cloud it had enveloped her, dragging her into a dark desire for destruction. Every enchantment that hit its target had given her joy and a sense of triumph. Hearing the girl's manic laughter, Darnella, the old teacher, had stopped her. At the sight of the damage she had caused to her fellow students, luckily nothing permanent thanks to Darnella, Kora had decided she wasn't going to fight ever again. During her next lesson she had flatly refused to participate. At the end of that day's Tournament, Darnella had talked to her._

"_Kora, you are our best student. The best we've had in a while. But you have to do the Tournament. You have to pass your exams eventually and we'll have to fail you if you refuse. I don't mean you'll fail just the Tournament. I mean you won't get your Certificate. It would be a shame."_

"_I can't do the Tournament anymore Darnella. I was turning dark and it frightened me."_

"_I understand. I had the same problem when I was your age. I was told by my teacher to see it as a dance. Use your skill to avoid what's thrown at you and respond with blocks, or fairly harmless spells. I want to see you succeed, Kora. We need witches like you. Will you do what I just told you?"_

"_Yes, Darnella, I will."_

_It was exactly what she had done and she had become good at it. Eventually. It had taken a lot of time but by the final exam she had won the Tournament against all her schoolmates and her teacher in total serenity. _

_ooOOoo_

Screecherella's attack eased off again. Kora wondered if the older witch was pacing herself. Perhaps her age was starting to tell. Whatever the reason, it gave Kora the time to get into the calm state she required. It was as if time slowed down for her, as if the whole world had started to move in slow-motion. A deep breath and she was ready. It was a dance of colours. Kora twirled, jumped, rolled, tumbled and pirouetted in a swirl of green spells, blue curses and purple hexes. Fireballs in reds, yellows and oranges whooshed around the square, blue-grey orbs, crackling with lightning rocketed in all directions. The sky above the arena was alight with firework. The witches all around the stadium clapped, whistled and hooted. Never had they enjoyed such a spectacle.

Sulpherina had joined Vipera, Fungella and Putrifica again in the attack on Karl, Kess and Tessa. Just as Kora pirouetted to avoid a curse and aimed a spell at Sulpherina she caught a movement at the Defenders Gate. She would have ignored it but the smirk on Sulpherina's face made her suspicious. Kora followed the woman's look of triumph, lost her balance in mid twirl and fell. Steven Starr and Kora's cousin Grimmelda had come onto the square, pushing and shoving a group of people, driving them on like cattle. They were tied together with their hands behind their backs. Kora saw her parents, her brother, his wife, Anke, and his oldest son, Rudi. With a sudden shock she realised that the two pink and blue balls bouncing behind her sister-in-law where the couple's twin babies. They were surrounded by a protection spell so they would not be hurt. The only one who could do such a spell was Anke, the twin's mother. Anke stumbled. It was clear she was exhausted and would have to give up her protection soon.

Steven kicked one of the bubbles as he walked over to Grimmelda. He put his arm around Kora's cousin smiling viciously. Grimmelda held up her hand until Kora could see the sparkling of a ring on her finger. They were married. Sulpherina had agreed to the first marriage in the history of the Blackwart family in order to get Steven Starr on their side and the ambitious young man had been thrilled to ally himself to the still powerful Blackwart family. They had plotted together to bring her down. Kora was paralysed in disbelief and horror. Screecherella saw her chance. The searing pain of a fireball ran across Kora's leg. She came out of the stupor and made the fireball shoot up in the air and explode high above the square. A following attack was blocked while Kora was still on her knees, her eyes on her family working out how best to help them. Then she saw Rudi cringe as if in pain. Seconds later Kora's mother cried and fell to her knees. Steven and Grimmelda were torturing the family with pain-spells.

At the sight of this, uncontrollable anger bubbled up in Kora. She tried hard to keep it down but failed when another one of Screecherella's fireballs hit her. In a last effort before the rage took over, Kora sent a spell towards her brother. It hit the rope that tied him up and made it shrivel to dust. As soon as he was free Carsten cast a protective bubble over his family and parents and started untying them.

Kora meanwhile was completely taken over by fury. Her eyes had turned completely black with two red pupils, like dancing flames. A quick flick of her hand, as if she was chasing a fly, knocked Screecherella to the ground. She was not hurt but couldn't move. Then Kora faced her real enemies. She threw spell after curse after spell at the Blackwarts and Steven Starr. Sulpherina was hit in the chest and would be out for longer this time. Vipera, Fungella and Putrifica ran onto the battleground, heading towards Karl and the children. Kora stopped them in the middle of the square. She took on the three witches and even sent a fireball towards Steven to stop him from breaching Carsten's protective bubble. When everyone was free, Carsten picked up his babies and herded the Weiss family towards the other side of the square, bubble and all. Kora was now under attack from the whole of the Blackwart coven. Because of the constant onslaught she had no time for big spells but she hurled a barrage of small painful spells and curses towards her opponents and met a target every time. Kora didn't think about Screecherella anymore. All her rage was concentrated on the cheats who had first attacked her husband and children and then tortured the rest of her family.

After being knocked on the ground Screecherella had felt a bit giddy. She shook her head to clear her mind. At first she didn't understand how there could still be a fight going on when she was sitting on the ground. For just a moment there was a tingling sensation in her mouth followed by a metallic taste. Suddenly she realised what had happened. They had used a spell on her. The Blackwarts had used a befuddlement spell so she wouldn't notice what they were doing. It must have been broken when she was flung to the ground. She needed to know what had happened since the beginning of the fight. She closed her eyes, found the memories in the furthest recess of her mind and looked at them. It was like looking at an old film she'd seen before but had forgotten about.

With her mind cleared Screecherella looked at Kora and the people who were attacking her. Fewer and fewer of the Blackwarts remained standing as yet another volley of spells hit them. Whether or not Kora had boasted of being better than Screecherella was beside the point now. It was all too clear that the girl WAS her equal and more than likely her better as well. It was time to stop the shambles the challenge had become. She shook off the spell that had kept her on the ground and got up.

"Kora, stop it," she yelled. "You've proven your point."

Kora didn't hear it. She only heard and saw the family that had taken her away from her family, that had made her youth the loneliest time of her life, that had tried to destroy the people she cared about. From the four that had been foremost in the attack only Putrifica was left standing. Grimmelda had joined the battle earlier, but was already knocked out. She stood stiff as a waxwork, could not move a muscle. Lupin, a quiet cousin of Kora's mother had heard Screecherella and tried to stop the fight from the Blackwart side. Kora, too occupied with Putrifica and some lesser Blackwart witches, saw a movement and presuming it was a sneak attack she retaliated before Lupin could do anything. Realisation that her victim had been the harmless Lupin pierced the black fog in Kora's mind. Her hesitation convinced Steven Starr that Kora was weakening. That was the time for action, he reasoned. He Joined Putrifica and together they conjured up a fireball that would destroy Kora once and for all. It took too long to make it, giving Kora the time to get ready to counteract it. Everybody in the stadium stopped breathing as they saw the giant fireball hurtling towards the petite and frail looking young woman standing in the middle of the square. Karl held his daughters' faces pressed against his body so they wouldn't see what happened to their mother. While Steven and Putrifica were busy making the fireball, Kora had been rubbing her hands together. When the projectile had covered half its distance she opened her hands. An arrow of lightning followed the course Kora had set it, away from her and upward. It ploughed into the middle of the ball of fire and lifted it high above the square where it exploded in a rainbow of sparks. The spectators were still applauding the display when Kora followed up with two more bolts of lightning. Released simultaneously, they raced across the field and careered into Steven and Putrifica. The two had no time to react as more spells and curses came their way.

Screecherella shouted again, "Stop, Kora, now!" but Kora's anger, so long held in check had become unstoppable. Then Screecherella showed why she had gotten her name. Every window in the mansions around the square rattled as she screeched, "Kora, stop it immediately, I order you!" but even that didn't pierce the rage that had taken possession of the younger witch.

Then Karl took Kess and Tessa by the hand and walked towards his wife. He stood right behind her when he softly said, "Kora, darling, I think the children have seen enough. Kess and Tessa want their mother back."

The names of her children said in the gentle voice of her husband, penetrated the darkness in Kora's mind. She suddenly relaxed. The fire went out of her eyes. They returned to their normal, kind brown. She looked at the mayhem she had created among the Blackwarts. Even though she was sorry that her children had seen it, she couldn't help feeling satisfied.

Screecherella came up to Kora and said, "You were right after all. You are better than me."

Finally Kora could tell the older witch, "I never said anything of the sort. But that lot (she pointed over her shoulder) wanted revenge. They made it all up."

"Are you telling me they used me, the council and the laws of the sisterhood for their own purpose? As well as using a befuddlement spell on me and the spectators?"

Kora just nodded. Screecherella needed a moment to compose herself then said to Kora, "There must be a trial then. You and your family will stay at my place. I don't take no for an answer."

The matter-of-fact conversation showed Kora that Screecherella now respected her. She and her family stayed at Screecherella's mansion until the trial of the Blackwart family and Steven Starr. They were accused of abusing the laws of the witching community. Their attack on Karl and the little girls showed disdain for the rules of official combat; as did the use of the befuddlement spell. Those charges were bad enough but then it was revealed how they had captured the Weiss family. Instead of challenging them and using magic to subdue them, the Blackwarts had sneakily added sleeping potion to their food. When they woke up from the drug induced sleep, they had already been tied up. The worst of their crimes was that they had involved children in this and had maltreated them in a way that could have caused their deaths. Steven Starr and the whole Blackwart coven were found guilty.

With the utmost politeness and the deepest insult Screecherella told them what their punishment would be.

"Today is a sad day. To have to punish a family that once belonged to the topmost families of our country is not a pleasant task. I remember so many great names from the past. Myristica Blackwart, co-founder of our country that freed witches from the control of warlocks and wizards; first High Witch to the council. Agaratina Blackwart who was material in composing and writing down the rules of battles between witches, the same rules you so callously broke. Dicentra and Robinia Blackwart, the first teacher of my academy, helped so many young witches grow up with respect for our traditions. Traditions you have besmirched with your behaviour. And I nearly forgot Daphne Blackwart who was full of concern for our older witches. The Screecherella Home should have been named after her. But most important of all is Kalmia Blackwart, the witch who made the name great. A witch with remarkable powers, the likes we haven't seen since her death … until today when a single witch took on a coven."

There were some worried glances between the Blackwart witches. They wondered what their punishment would be. Quite a few looked in anger at Sulpherina whom they blamed for their predicament.

Then Screecherella read out the sentences. "Mr Steven Starr, Mrs Grimmelda Blackwart-Starr, Miss Sulpherina Blackwart, Miss Vipera Blackwart, Miss Fungella Blackwart and Miss Putrifica Blackwart, you have been the worst offenders in this sad case. I fear I have no choice but to give you the worst punishment possible; one that for a witch is worse than death. I herewith sentence you all to the loss of your magic powers for eternity. The rest of the family Blackwart will lose their powers for a limited time depending on their involvement. I recommend these sentences to be no less than 50 years so that they will be a warning to all who think our laws do not count for anything. There are two exceptions to this rule. First is Miss Lupin Blackwart for whom I recommend the lesser sentence of five years without powers because she did not participate in the attacks. If she had had the courage to divulge the plans of her family she would have been free to go. The second exception is of course Lobelia Weiss, who although born a Blackwart was a victim in this sorry affair. Sentences will be executed at the end of this session."

The lawyers of the accused pleaded for leniency but they knew little would be forthcoming. At the end of the trial the public was requested to leave the courthouse. Then the witches of the High Council started and incantation that stripped the defendants of their powers.

Kora and her entire family stayed another night at the Screecherella mansion. In the morning when they were ready to leave Screecherella said to Kora, "What would you say if I asked you to become my heir? I need to choose somebody with a brain as well as sufficient power and I think you're exactly what I'm looking for."

"No, thank you," was Kora's answer.

"The witching world needs someone like you, Kora. Someone with her feet firmly planted in reality."

"I'm sorry, Screecherella, but I just don't want the sort of power you have. If I have some power over my children that's all I care for."

Screecherella looked at Kora, as if she were an insect under a magnifying glass. "We need you," she said, "and because we need you, you will come. You can't help yourself. You'll see when the time comes."

"Yes," answered Kora, "we'll see." And with her husband Karl and her daughters Kess and Tessa she returned to Greenwood on the Vee, where she was the little wife of the hulking blacksmith, where she was the woman who made gingerbread houses and where a neglected garden was waiting for her attention.

THE END


End file.
